Retrospectively, I believe THE WONDER YEARS (premiered in 1987) to be a top 10 all time show. The great thing about this show is that it has something for everyone. It evokes memories for two generations of viewers (1) Since it premiered in the late 80s (and carried over into the early 90s), it reminds those of us who were lucky enough to see all the popular shows of the time. For me, some of my favorite shows came out during this era. And (2) Since it's set in the late 60s/early 70s, it vividly evokes a time and place for viewers that lived during that era.
The true genius of The Wonder Years is that regardless of the fact that it was an "80s/90s" show and set in the "60s/70s", it truthfully presented growing pains of it's central character Kevin Arnold (brilliantly played be series star Fred Savage, who was nominated for a Best Actor Emmy for his work). At the time of the show's run, I really overlooked how difficult it must have been for this young actor to carry such a well-written, conceived show. Savage was so good, he should have taken home at least ONE Emmy for his work! The show itself actually took home the Emmy for Best Comedy Series after only it's first SIX episodes! It's like the Emmys actually had foresight and knew this show was going to be special. Too bad they now don't have hindsight and either award the wrong shows are over-award certain shows and actors to the detriment of other great shows and actors.
Savage was just so good in this role, as good or better than many adult actors. Another brilliant stroke of genius that made this show work was the narration by an unseen-only heard Daniel Stern (voice of the adult Kevin). When I first watched the show, I thought the narration was a bit much at times, but in re-watching old eps, the narration is a huge reason that many scenes and moments worked. The intermingling of the narrator dialogue (Kevin's future inner voice) with Kevin's situation at the time was perfectly done, with just the right doses of humor, sarcasm, wit, and gravitas.
Savage was working with a great supporting cast: Dan Lauria and Alley Mills (as Kevin's parents Jack and Norma Arnold), Jason Hervey (as Kevin's butthead of a big brother Wayne!), Olivia D'abo (as Kevin's flower-child sister Karen, the oldest of the siblings), Josh Saviano (as Kevin's nerdy best friend Paul), and Danica McKellar (as Kevin's eternal youthful infatuation and first love Winnie Cooper). These actors played well off of Savage and the show did a masterful job of always telling the story from Kevin's point of view, with the other characters reactionary, but at the same time, giving us glimpses into their personalities.
The Wonder Years touched upon pretty much every big theme of a pre-teen/teenager's life: puberty, Kevin's crushes on girls and one of his teachers, the sibling rivalry between Kevin and Wayne, Kevin's being bullied (ironically mostly from a girl, the recurring character Becky!), summer camp, first date, Kevin running for class president, Kevin's perspective on his parents, etc., but also issues of the time like the Vietnam War. The main thing is that Kevin was always portrayed as a normal kid with normal kid issues, flaws, thoughts, behavior, but it was always presented in a poignant, humorous, heartwarming manner. After all these years, the show doesn't even look dated at all! Capturing the essence of the era that it's set in, coming out at a time when television entertainment was at it's apex, and excellently fusing these two qualities together, The Wonder Years is an all time show!
The true genius of The Wonder Years is that regardless of the fact that it was an "80s/90s" show and set in the "60s/70s", it truthfully presented growing pains of it's central character Kevin Arnold (brilliantly played be series star Fred Savage, who was nominated for a Best Actor Emmy for his work). At the time of the show's run, I really overlooked how difficult it must have been for this young actor to carry such a well-written, conceived show. Savage was so good, he should have taken home at least ONE Emmy for his work! The show itself actually took home the Emmy for Best Comedy Series after only it's first SIX episodes! It's like the Emmys actually had foresight and knew this show was going to be special. Too bad they now don't have hindsight and either award the wrong shows are over-award certain shows and actors to the detriment of other great shows and actors.
Savage was just so good in this role, as good or better than many adult actors. Another brilliant stroke of genius that made this show work was the narration by an unseen-only heard Daniel Stern (voice of the adult Kevin). When I first watched the show, I thought the narration was a bit much at times, but in re-watching old eps, the narration is a huge reason that many scenes and moments worked. The intermingling of the narrator dialogue (Kevin's future inner voice) with Kevin's situation at the time was perfectly done, with just the right doses of humor, sarcasm, wit, and gravitas.
Savage was working with a great supporting cast: Dan Lauria and Alley Mills (as Kevin's parents Jack and Norma Arnold), Jason Hervey (as Kevin's butthead of a big brother Wayne!), Olivia D'abo (as Kevin's flower-child sister Karen, the oldest of the siblings), Josh Saviano (as Kevin's nerdy best friend Paul), and Danica McKellar (as Kevin's eternal youthful infatuation and first love Winnie Cooper). These actors played well off of Savage and the show did a masterful job of always telling the story from Kevin's point of view, with the other characters reactionary, but at the same time, giving us glimpses into their personalities.
The Wonder Years touched upon pretty much every big theme of a pre-teen/teenager's life: puberty, Kevin's crushes on girls and one of his teachers, the sibling rivalry between Kevin and Wayne, Kevin's being bullied (ironically mostly from a girl, the recurring character Becky!), summer camp, first date, Kevin running for class president, Kevin's perspective on his parents, etc., but also issues of the time like the Vietnam War. The main thing is that Kevin was always portrayed as a normal kid with normal kid issues, flaws, thoughts, behavior, but it was always presented in a poignant, humorous, heartwarming manner. After all these years, the show doesn't even look dated at all! Capturing the essence of the era that it's set in, coming out at a time when television entertainment was at it's apex, and excellently fusing these two qualities together, The Wonder Years is an all time show!